


Trust

by Lustfulcat



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: M/M, Smol Eruris
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-03 22:08:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6628549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lustfulcat/pseuds/Lustfulcat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Levi and Erwin had met much earlier in their lives? Based on Aileine's fanart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trust

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Aileine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aileine/gifts).



> This is inspired by Aileine's [ If I had known you back then, would my life have been different?](http://aileine.tumblr.com/post/143186884513/if-i-had-known-you-back-then-would-my-life-have) fanart, which broke my heart into tiny pieces as soon as I saw it. Thank you Aileine for corrupting so many of us with your amazing talent!

Levi tore through the dark alley on burning legs, his heartbeat thundering in his ears, making it sound like someone was chasing him but he knew that no one followed. This was the Underground where crime was the norm not some well-guarded noble house in Sina, and Levi had been careful to select a target that was old, drunk, alone and too stupid to realize that the bulge of coin in his pocket left him open to murder. A boy had to eat after all, had to earn his keep…

But it didn’t mean that Levi was used to it.

Adrenaline still pumped through him, shaking his bloodied hands. Stopping before his legs gave out, Levi slumped against the wall between two empty barrels, crouching low and looking everywhere. He still had the feeling that he was being followed but it had to be his imagination. He’d used every shortcut, squeezed through every secret passage, his small size giving him the advantage, letting him slip through cracks and disappear; he was impossible to track.

Detached, he watched small drops of red fall from his fingertips. Was there blood on his face? He had to be more careful next time, try to avoid the splatter, but the old fuck was quicker than expected. Kenny’s training had been hard, relentless, and Levi needed to calm down and clean up before he went back or there’d be retribution for his sloppy actions.

Coin lay heavy and unfamiliar in Levi’s pocket, drawing his gaze to it. Was there enough for him to bribe his way out of this wretched place? He wanted to be outside, to see the sky in all its colors, feel the wind on his face…

Go where his mother always wanted them to go.

He clenched his teeth and his mind against her memory, closing off. It was useless to dream; he would live and die here just like everyone else. Truthfully, he was lucky. If Kenny hadn’t taken him in he’d probably be dead already.

But he couldn’t find it within himself to be grateful.

There was a noise several feet to the left and he was instantly at wide unblinking attention. Someone was in the alley too. He _had_ been followed.

Curling in, Levi became a statue, listening as soft footsteps approached, waiting until he saw the tip of a shadow before pulling his knife and springing forward. He only had seconds to determine if he wanted to rack up another kill tonight or just make a break for it.

But he never got to make that decision. He lunged at nothing, stumbling through a frayed potato sack on a stick. The shadow was a decoy.

Firm hands grabbed Levi from behind, and his knife clattered to the ground as his wrists were pinned to the small of his back before he could blink.

“Let go you asshole!” Levi struggled, not going down without a fight, but his assailant hung on, avoiding most of the kicks.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” The voice was smooth, almost familiar, and that accent was clearly from the outside.

Levi snorted, not believing him for a second. “That’s why you’re holding a kid down in an alley like a fucking pervert.”

“You’re the one who dove out with a knife.” At that Levi stopped attacking for half a second and whoever had followed him used it as an opening. “Besides, anyone who kills like that isn’t a child anymore.”

Levi felt like he’d been doused in ice water. He’d been so careful, followed all of Kenny’s rules and somehow he’d been spotted. No, he’d been _watched_. How long had this asshole been following him?

“You saw _nothing_ ,” he spat, twisting and kicking again like a feral animal. One hand broke free and he sunk low, almost snapping his shoulder before spinning around and aiming a foot right at the man’s head. The grasp on his other wrist slipped a little and Levi managed to wrench away, aborting the kick to stumble back a few steps and right himself, freezing in place as he saw who’d been holding him.

It wasn’t a man but _another kid_.

He was definitely older, and larger, with broad shoulders and depthless blue eyes full of wonder and concern. His hair was practically gold, and he stood strangely apart from everything like the filth of the Underground could never touch him. Something inside of Levi wanted to stay and find out more about this weird kid but he either had to leave or kill him and right now he was outmatched.

Darting right, Levi spun on a heel and was halfway down the alley in a blink.

“Wait! _Please!_ ” The kid called out, giving chase. “I’m not going to hand you over to the Military Police, I promise.”

Levi didn’t like that voice. It sounded too steady, too sure. And every time he heard it his chest squeezed, because it sounded like it cared.

Despite himself, despite everything Kenny had taught him clawing at his brain, Levi stopped. He didn’t know why, it was like his body decided for him, halting his legs and declaring mutiny.

“Well what the fuck do you want then?” Levi snapped, stepping back as Blondie caught up, maintaining enough distance between them so he could escape again if needed.

“I want to help you.”

“Tch,” Levi scoffed, taking a few more steps toward the street for good measure. There was no way some random rich kid wanted to help him after watching him murder somebody ten minutes ago; besides, Levi had seen enough in his short life to know that nothing in this world came for free. There was always a catch.   

“What’s your name?” The kid seemed unruffled by Levi’s wary and distrusting silence, “I’m Erwin Smith. I’m a cadet right now and in three years I’m going to join the Survey Corps.”

“You’re gonna fight Titans?” Levi almost forgot this was a life and death situation. “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

But he had to admit he was slightly jealous. Not only did this idiot get to fly outside, if he lived long enough he might even be able to go beyond the walls. Kenny had three dimensional maneuvering gear hidden at their place, and Levi ached to use it, to see what it would feel like to soar through the air like a bird, but he knew he was too young.

“Maybe it’s dumb.” Erwin moved slightly forward and Levi allowed it. “But I have something I need to do-”

“Why are you following me?”

Erwin blinked at him, not frightened nor disgusted, just interested, as if Levi fascinated him. “I’m here on a dare from the upper class cadets. A group of us had to sneak into and out of the Underground. Several of them have already been caught so I was waiting on a rooftop for an opportunity to slip out when I saw you.”

His eyes flicked down to Levi’s hands, which were still shaking.

“Where are your parents?”

“Dead.” Levi resisted the urge to kick him again. “Where are _your_ parents?”

“The same.” Something flickered in Erwin’s eyes, something Levi recognized, and he knew that this creepy kid was telling the truth, at least about that. But the rest?  

“ _Why_ do you want to help me? I can take care of myself.” Why wouldn’t his hands stop shaking? Why was he still talking to this creepy brat? If he didn’t leave soon he wouldn’t be able to go back at all.

Erwin took another step forward. “I want to help you because you have a lot of potential. I saw you take on that man…you fight better than most of the upper class cadets. Plus you’re fast. I had a lot of trouble following you.”

Levi sneered at him. “Sounds like you’re the ones who need help.” He backed up, keeping the distance between them, light on his feet and ready to bolt at a second’s notice.

He didn’t expect Blondie to tilt his head back and laugh. It was a sound that tickled Levi’s skin, warming him and stilling his hands a bit.

“You’re right,” Erwin said through diminishing chuckles. “Maybe we both need help.”

There was something dangerous about this but not in the criminal way Levi was used to. He felt like something was shifting around him and if he stayed any longer he’d be forever changed. The Underground was anything but secure but it was home and it was the only thing that Levi had. This had gone far enough. Levi had to return to Kenny’s with money _now;_ he didn’t have any more time to waste.

“I know what help you’re gonna give me.” He began to walk backwards down the alley “You're gonna bring me to the outside and sell me to some old man so I can suck his dick.”

Erwin drew back a little, his large eyebrows furrowing, and then his lips settled into an even firmer line. He looked genuinely startled and Levi felt almost bad, stopping again before he turned onto the main street.

“I would never do that to you,” Erwin said sadly. “I wanted to bring you above ground with me and get you working for the corps until you’re old enough to join.”

“You can’t do that!” Levi sputtered. This kid was not only weird, he was crazy.

“Of course I can,” Erwin tilted his head, confident. “I got in here and I can certainly get us out. I’ll tell my superior officer that I found you on the street and that you helped me out of a robbery. Once they see you fight I’m sure they’ll want to hold on to you.”

“This is bullshit.” Levi said it aloud more to convince himself than to deny Erwin. The truth was he wanted to live up top, to feel the seasons, the rain, see leaves on the trees, run in the grass. He wanted to –

“You can learn how to use the gear and kill Titans. Use your skills for humanity.”

Levi wanted to fly.

He didn’t want to stab drunk men and rob them while their warm blood rushed over his hands. He didn’t want to look over his shoulder all the time. He didn’t want to wonder when he’d eat again, or earn his meals in a way that left him sleepless.

“Who taught you how to kill like that?” Erwin was suddenly close again; Levi hadn’t noticed him approach. He left himself open. Was he seriously trusting Blondie now?

“None of your fucking business.”

“Fine.” Erwin studied Levi intently, not slighted at all by his rude personality. “Do you _want_ to kill people?”

Levi looked down at his bloodied hands again. Most of the gore had been wiped away in the struggle but his fingertips were still stained, and he stared at them for too long, thinking about his mother, Kenny, the hard dirty faces of the people all around him, how every year the walls in the Underground seemed to close in, how scared he was…

The cold empty look of death in his victims’ eyes.

“No…” he didn’t even recognize his voice, it sounded hollow. “I don’t.”

“What’s your name?”

“Levi.”

Erwin bent over, looking straight into him and suddenly the world was blue, endless. Levi had only caught glimpses of the sky through small holes and grates, and he knew that no matter how blue it was when he finally saw it up top, Erwin’s eyes were going to be its greatest competition.

“Do you want to watch the moon with me tonight, Levi?”

Levi had never thought about his future before. Well, he had, but it was a future where he breathed stale air, stole and starved until eventually his legs withered.

Maybe it didn’t have to be that way. Maybe he could take a chance. Maybe he didn’t have to go back to Kenny…he could go with Erwin. He didn’t know why but he believed that this strange kid could get them out, that he could do everything he said he could do.

He trusted Erwin on instinct.

Eyes wide, Levi nodded once.

Reaching out, Erwin laced his fingers gently across Levi’s knuckles, right under the blood, and Levi could almost feel his future change.

“It’s gonna be alright…”


End file.
